Dare, or Truth?
by Explosive Watermelon
Summary: The Flock is taking a break at Dr. M's house, but when the power goes out, a seemingly harmless game of Dare or Truth turns into something... really really weird! Who will lose their sanity first? I like eggs, but I love Eggy! If you get what I'm saying.
1. Changing Names and Guitar Strings

**So yeah, my first Maximum Ride fic... I've seen a bunch of these truth/dare things, and in a sad attempt to be origanal, I renamed it. Oh, just fair warning, I decided to invent a couple of words in here, so just, ya' know... humor me.**

**Dissing the Claim: As much as I wish I owned seven Avain-American kiddo's, I don't. Oh, I and I don't own the little Spanish chick either. They're all James Patterson's... darn him and his amazing ideas.**

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I was lazily flipping through the channels on a rainy day in the Martinez household, not really listening to the programs. I passed through a few cartoons, and heard Angel run up behind me urgently.

"Wait, Fang! Go back a few channels," She told me, running to sit in front of the TV, "There, that's it!"

It was an old Cartoon Network show. By the looks of the setting, they were in someone's bedroom at night, having a slumber party. One of the characters looked very stressed, constantly telling his friends that their game of Truth or Dare had to be quiet. I actually felt kind of bad for him.

A hug crack of lightening sounded outside, and suddenly the screen went black.

"Aw! What happened?" Angel asked, staring at the screen with disappointment.

Ella walked in, looking around the room skeptically, "Power outage. I guess something hit a power line."

"Do you think something blew up?" Gazzy asked excitedly.

"A few sparks at most. Sorry, Gazzy," Ella informed him.

"AH! HOLY – THAT'S COLD – WATER!" A scream sounded from the hall bathroom.

"MAX! Language!" Iggy called from his room in mock reprimand at Max's colorful description of just what she thought of the shower head.

Max stomped into the living room, dripping wet, wearing a blue t-shirt and a borrowed pair of Ella's Sophie shorts. Max hated wearing them, but I really didn't mind. _Really_ didn't mind.

She plopped onto the other end of the couch, arms folded, "The one time I actually break down and take a shower, the power goes out and just takes the hot water with it! The cleanliness gods must hate me."

"_I_ know something we could do," Nudge said, her voice taking on a conniving tone.

Angel giggled, "I'm in!"

Angel always knew what was happening first. Darn her and her little mind reading skills.

"What?" Max asked.

"Truth or Dare!"

"Oh, no! I am _not_ playing truth or dare!" Ella objected immediately.

"Why not?" Nudge asked disappointedly.

Ella grimaced, "Let's just say I had a bad experience."

"What hap—," Gazzy tried to ask.

"I _had_ a _bad_ _EXPERIENCE!_" She boomed at the nine year old.

"Y-yes ma'am! I mean, uh," He fumbled.

Ella covered her face with her hand, "Just forget about it, Gazzy."

"Well, what if we changed the name?" Nudge asked.

"Excuse me?"

"What if it was Dare or Truth instead of Truth or Dare?"

Max put her head to one side, her anger at the shower god's forgotten, "How do you play?"

"Oh, we have to play, now! Just so Max can learn! C'mon, Ella, _please_?" Angel pleaded, putting on her most angelic face.

Ella shook her head stubbornly.

Nudge joined Angel in their silent bessechment.

Ella refused, but this time hesitantly.

Iggy walked out of the hallway, being the last to join the group in the living room, "What's up?"

Angel and Nudge dashed over to Iggy, "Ella's being so mean!"

"Yeah, we just wanted to play a harmless game of Truth or Dare!"

"We even changed the name of the game to Dare or Truth, just for her!"

"C'mon, Iggy, tell Ella to play with us, please?"

Iggy looked (so to speak) at Ella, "Why don't you want to play?"

Ella, who had been standing silently, watching incredulously as the implored Iggy to convince her to play, now spoke dully, "I had a bad experience."

"It's only a harmless game, isn't it?" Iggy questioned, missing the warning in Ella's voice.

"Truth or Dare is anything but harmless," She told him flatly.

"Well I want to play, and since I'm in charge when Mom's at work, I say this is going to be a cosmic family togetherness experience and we are all going to participate." Max said with a look at Ella that dared her to challenge.

I shot a shot a sideways glance at Max, "Cosmic family togetherness?"

"I read it somewhere. Now play along!" She muttered back at me.

Ella sighed, "Fine, I know when I'm beaten," She plopped onto the floor, a crack of thunder punctuating the action.

Nudge and Angel squealed, each of them taking a seat on the floor.

"Everyone sits in a circle," Angel instructed.

Iggy came over and sat next to Ella, Max and I slid off the couch and onto the floor, and Gazzy came and filled the space between Max and Nudge.

"Okay, I'll go first," Nudge announced, "I choose… Max!"

Max blinked in surprise, "Me? Uh, okay…"

"Dare or Truth?"

Max looked very self-assured as she told Nudge, "Dare!"

Nudge smiled wickedly, "I dare you to let me give you a makeover!"

Max's face fell, "No way!"

"Too late, you said dare!" Nudge jumped up, running off to gather all the makeup in the house.

Iggy snickered and whispered something to Ella, which got them both trying to contain frantic laughter.

"Alright, _Iggy_, you think it's so funny?" Max demanded hotly, getting their attention, "Dare or Truth?"

"Dare, of course!" Iggy scoffed.

Max smirked, "I dare you to sing Ella a love song."

Iggy's face reddened, "Pardon?"

"You heard me," Max said, completely self-satisfied, "Fang, go get your laptop, he's gonna need lyrics."

Iggy frowned deeply, "That won't be necessary, Fang. I've got a song memorized."

Max gasped and reached out to Ella, "He's been living his whole life for this moment! Just to sing for you!"

"Ew, Max!" Ella protested, her face blushing.

Max laughed, "This almost makes the makeover worth it," She stated as Nudge returned with a huge box of makeup.

Iggy sighed and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Max asked, ready to challenge him for skipping out on the dare.

"I'm getting a prop," He snapped, disappearing down the hallway.

Nudge giggled, "I love this game!" She began holding up different colors of eye shadow and blush next to Max's face, "You are definitely a summer, Max."

"Well I can certainly add that to my list of useless trivia."

Just then, Iggy returned with a guitar in hand.

"It's a full-blown serenade!" Max commented with a big smile.

"I'm really not sure I'm comfortable with this…," Ella began as Iggy sat down next to her, his face set.

But before any other words could be said, Iggy took up a familiar tune on the guitar, and to all of our profound amazement, his singing was...

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**Oooooh, cliffhanger! **

**...or not really. I just had to cut the chapter off somewhere, so why not right when I'm about to tell you: can Iggy sing, or no?**

**Review? Por favor? :}D  
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	2. Songficness

**I'd just like to thank everyone who added my story to their favorites or alerts or reviewed! It means a lot!**

**Oh, and Hellwise(sorry if i messed up your username) the Fang in pink will come... Mwahahahaha...  
**

**And now it is revealed... can Iggy sing? What song is he singing, anyway? Well stop reading the A/N and get on with the story!**

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Beautiful. Who knew Iggy could _sing_? I've known him for _fifteen years_ and I didn't know he could sing? What the heck was wrong with me?

_"He-ey, he-e-e-ey, he-e-e-ey,_

_ You're lipstick stains, on the front lobe of my left side brains,_

_ I knew I wouldn't forget you, and so I went and let you blow my mind…" _Iggy sang, and everything in the house was silent but the strum of his guitar; even the rain let up a little.

_"Hey, soul sister, ain't that mister mister on the radio, stereo,_

_ The way you move ain't fair, ya' know,_

_ Hey, soul sister, I don't wanna miss a single thing you do-o-o, tonight,_

_ He-ey, he-e-e-ey, he-e-e-ey,"_

The weirdest thing was as Iggy sang on, he didn't seem to notice anything but Ella. If you asked me, he seemed to be enjoying this dare a little bit too much, and so did Ella. Max didn't seem to believe what she was hearing, and I could plainly see on her face she didn't like what she was seeing. I couldn't really blame her. Max was like the flock mother, and Iggy was, in some twisted way, like her son, or baby chick or whatever, and here he was, singer to her younger sister. This must have been very awkward for her.

By now, the song was on its last chorus and Iggy wound it up with a final cord. When he finished, everyone clapped, except Max.

"When did you learn to play the guitar?" Gazzy asked in amazement.

"Where did you even get a guitar?" Max asked skeptically.

Iggy set the guitar to his side and shrugged, "I found it in the basement, and as for learning it… I don't really know. That song came on the radio a lot, and I started to recognize the notes when I played them one the guitar, and so I memorized it for lack of anything better to do."

"Iggy, we've only been here for three days. You're telling me you learned all that in three days? Cause that is definitely a lie I mean honestly –," Nudge started off.

"No, Nudge," Iggy cut in, "I've been doing this for a while. Every time we come to the Martinez house, actually. Now I believe it's _my_ turn to dare or truth someone…"

We all became nervous, especially Max, because Iggy's always one to get revenge.

"I choose… Gazzy!" Iggy decided, and I saw Max relax visibly, "Dare or truth?"

Gazzy poked his little chin up, "None other than dare!"

Iggy's mouth curled into an evil smile, "I dare you to eat an entire plate of steamed broccoli!"

Angel gasped, "Iggy, that's disgusting!"

"I'll say! Broccoli's gross!"

"No, Gazzy, that's not – oh, never mind," Angel tried to explain, but gave up since Gazzy wasn't listening.

"Where are you going to get broccoli?" Max asked.

"I think my mom has some frozen in the freezer," Ella offered.

"Cool, I go cook it up," Iggy offered.

"Here, I'll help you," Ella started to get up, but was quickly interrupted by Max.

"No, Ella, you stay," Max said, warning in her voice, "I can help Iggy with the broccoli."

Normally, Max hated cooking and really wasn't that good at it, so that automatically tipped me off that something wasn't well. Then, by use of a flash of lightening, I saw the cold steel on her half-made-up face, and alarm flashed across my usually indifferent face.

I wanted to yell at Iggy, "Danger, Danger Will Robinson!" But I knew that if I said anything, we'd both be on the death bed. And of course it's not like shooting him a look would help, you could have a whole conversation with Iggy cross-eyed and he wouldn't be able to tell.

After they were gone, Angel came over and tugged my sleeve, "Fang, is Max gonna kill Iggy?"

I just sighed, "Hope not. That could get messy."

Max POV

Was I going to kill Iggy? Of course not. Brutally maim? Maybe later. Right now, all I could issue was a warning.

I knew Iggy couldn't see my face, but I could tell he was nervous.

"So Iggy… you really seemed to enjoy singing your little song out there," I began.

"It was… okay," Iggy replied warily, getting the broccoli out of the freezer and put its cook ready bag into the microwave.

"I have to say, Iggy, I'm not exactly _pleased_ with the look you were giving my _little sister_."

"Max, how could I give Ella a look when I am _blind!_"

"AHA! You just called her 'Ella' instead of repeating me and calling her 'little sister!'"

"Wow, I knew the government was plotting to kill originality, but I didn't know they got to you, too, Max."

"You know what I mean!"

"Well… so what! It's none of your business!"

"Oh, right, it's only a member of my flock and my younger sister. That has absolutely _nothing_ to do with me!"

"I don't get why you're so upset about it! It's _your_ fault!"

"My fault? How!"

"Um, Earth to Max, _you dared me too!"_

A sudden and loud beeping cut off our argument, signaling the broccoli was done. Iggy spun on his heel, setting it out on a plate and stomping into the living room.

Iggy irritably shoved the plate at Gazzy, who looked about ready to protest, but then he noticed how unhappy Iggy was and clamed up.

The atmosphere of a happy game was quickly deteriorating.

Gazzy, poor kid, was completely oblivious to this, shrugged off Iggy's look and downed the plate of broccoli in thirty seconds.

Nudge looked thoughtful for a moment, "Doesn't steamed broccoli mess up your digestion or something?"

"Oh, it's nothing fatal," Iggy reported, "It just makes you a little… gassy." His mouth twisted into an evil grin.

Gazzy let one loose, real loud.

Max covered her mouth and glared at Iggy, "You sick monster! I _will_ get even!"

"Actually, I think that wa/s him getting even with you, Max," I told her regretfully.

"Who's side on your on!"

"Uh… Gazzy! Looks like it's your turn… heh, heh…"

"Oh, right! Hum… I choose… Angel!" He said, pointing at his younger sister.

"Don't bother asking; I choose truth," She said loftily, hugging Celeste.

"Girls are no fun," He muttered, "Okay, uhm… What's Ella thinking about?"

Ella sighed, "I haven't even been chosen yet and somehow I end up the victim."

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**Oh, poor Ella... don't worry, you'll get your chance... heh heh... Fang in pink...**

**So, uh, ya' like it, review! I love a good feedback!**


	3. Keep the Dream Alive, Fang

**You people of fanfiction are too kind... really, I read your reviews and feel all warm and fuzzy inside! :D**

**Just a warning, Ella's thoughts might seem a bit anti-climactic, but Fangs dare is... wow. I don't even know how to describe it.**

**And because I don't think I've done this yet, or I have but I'm too lazy to check...**

**A Claim I am Dissing: I do not own Maximum Ride, or any of the other characters. I also do not own any of the songs mentioned. **

**Read on, good people~**

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Angel's face went blank for a moment, and then she spoke up, "She's thinking about a song. It's a song about birds," She looked at Ella, "What song is that?"

Ella sighed, "Blackbird, it's a Beatles song."

"How does it go?" Nudge asked.

If you ask me, this whole endeavor was turning into a musical. A horrible mental picture of a bunch of perky high schoolers dancing in and singing about how absolutely fantastic life was going to be. I shuddered.

"It's not important," Ella decided.

Angel frowned, "Fine. I choose you, Ella."

Then I got another equally disturbing mental image of Ella jumping out of a Pokeball. I put my head in my hands; what was wrong with me today?

"Dare or Truth," Angel asked.

"Truth," Ella said, staring at the rain.

"What are you thinking about?" Angel asked, sounding very annoyed.

"Can't you just read her mind?" Max asked.

"Not when she's thinking in _Spanish_!" Angel cried, throwing her arms up in exasperation.

Iggy looked (you know what I mean) at Ella, "You speak Spanish?"

Ella blushed slightly, "Well, yeah, Mom's been teaching me since I was little."

"Say something in Spanish!" Gazzy demanded excitedly.

"Something in Spanish."

At Ella's comeback, Iggy cracked up and Gazzy crossed his arms, pouting. Even I smiled a little.

"That is so not what I meant," He mumbled.

Ella laughed lightly, "Okay, I choose…" Her eyes rested on me, "Fang."

I shrugged. Ella wasn't as devious as the rest of us…

"Dare or Truth?"

"Dare."

…she wouldn't think of anything horribly embarrassing…

…at least, that's what I thought until she brought out my dare.

"You have to wear _this_ for the rest of the night," She held up a pair of white, shiny leather bell-bottoms with pink stars up the seams and a matching jacket. The shirt that was with it was silk, and you guessed it, the same color pink as the stars.

I took one look at the ridiculous eighties outfit and shook my head, "No way. Never. Nuh-uh."

"Gee, Fang, I didn't know you were two percent _chicken_," Ella jeered with an impish grin. Iggy and Gazzy punctuated the challenge with chicken noises.

I was trapped. They left me no choice.

I stood up and snatched the outfit from Ella's hands, "You… are despicable."

"I try," She replied with a modest shrug.

I stomped down the hall and into my bedroom, changing into the horrendous outfit. I don't care what Max says, Ella and Iggy deserve each other.

Max POV

Poor Fang! I swore up and down to everyone in the room I wouldn't laugh when he came out.

That was, until I actually saw him.

The whole room erupted into laughter when Fang walked in. I clutched my stomach and bit my lips together, anything to keep from laughing at his face.

"S-so, Max, are you gonna be his _dancing queen!_" Iggy asked between laughs.

"I dunno, Iggy, I-I think your… _living on a prayer_ with that one!" Ella responded.

"Shut up," Fang grumbled.

"Oh, Fang es _le freak!_" Iggy said in a horrible French accent.

"Al-alright, guys, ahem," I said, standing up, still attempting to not laugh and put on a stern look, "Don't you realize that _Fang will survive_ no matter what you say?" And with that, I burst out laughing with the rest of them.

"_That's the way Fang likes it!"_

"Why don't we take a _double dutch bus_ right out of town?"

"Don't worry, Fang, no matter what you wear, _we are family_!"

"Max, be careful, Fangles has a _heart of glass_!"

By now, I was rolling on my back, clutching at my aching abdomen.

"Traitor," Fang said, staring me down.

I smiled up at him, "Funny's funny, Fang," I giggled.

Fang just shook his head at me.

I sat up next to him, "Okay I'm done laughing. I think we've exhausted all the classic disco songs we know."

Suddenly, the lights came back on with a flicker.

"Hey, the powers back!" Nudge said brightly.

I heard the front door open and looked up to see my mom enter with a rain coat and a confused look.

She glanced from the guitar, to the remains of the broccoli, to the ludicrous outfit Fang wore, to my face, "What _exactly_ happened while the power was out?"

I sighed, "A lot."

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**Aw, poor Fang! Why is it so fun to exploit him?**

**Anyway... Review! Por favor! :}D  
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	4. It's A Classic

**So this chapter is... exciting. :}D **

**By the way, you reviewers are so nice! You're why I kept writing this! **

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Fang POV

So Max turned to face her Mom and explained the whole situation. Her mom didn't look upset, which was good, because if you thought Max was bad when she was angry… anyway, Dr. M looked mostly amused.

"So Nudge did your make-up?" Dr. M asked Max after she put up her coat and purse.

Max sighed, "Ah, yeah, and I didn't even get to see it yet. Did she do well?"

Dr. M nodded and told her, "You should go look in the mirror," she glanced at Nudge, "You did a very good job, Nudge. Where'd you learn how to do that?"

Nudge blushed, "Ya' know, internet… magazines… the usual."

"Oh, wow, I look like one of those models or something!" Max said in astonishment, running back into the living room, "And I can barely tell it's there! Has it got, like, fairy dust in it?"

"You don't need fairy dust, you just need good make-up," Ella told her, and then added to Nudge, "and a good artist."

And art it was. This was the first time I could had seen Max's face in full light, and I didn't even know what to say, which I covered up as just my usual silence, but when Max and her new model face came to sit next to me, I could feel my face burn.

"So what do you think, Fang?" She asked with mock innocence, knowing _exactly_ what I was thinking.

I frowned, "That isn't even fair."

She smirked, "Well, don't get used to it, 'cause putting this crap on took forever, so it's only happening on _very_ special occasions."

"Am I invited to these occasions?" I questioned.

"Maybe," She said slyly, "But I guarantee you won't fit the dress code in that."

Everyone laughed at that, except me, of course. Ella thought _she_ was the butt of these jokes?

I glared at Dr. Martinez, "And thank you, adult figure, for teaching these impressionable young children that bullying is acceptable!"

"Oh, Fang, don't be a party pooper," Max said, punching my shoulder, a little too hard.

I rubbed my shoulder, "Oh, yeah, Gazzy only _smells_ like it. I'm all substance."

Max covered her mouth trying to hold in her laugh.

"Speak of the smelly devil…," I said, "Gazzy, Dare or truth?"

"I think that's my queue to exit stage right," Dr. M said, leaving the room.

"Uh duh, dare!"

"Alright, Mr. Knight in shining confidence, I dare you to do your own make-up."

Gazzy's eyes widened, "No… no, you can't make me! DR. MARTINEZ! HELP! THEY'RE GOING TO VIOLATE MY MAN-HOOD!"

"Gazzy, you're nine years old, you don't _have_ a man hood," Iggy told him.

"Well I'm trying to establish one! I-I'm impressionable! This will scar me for life! YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO PAY FOR MY THERAPY!"

"Oh, shut up and take the eye shadow," Nudge told him, shoving a palette of colors at him.

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One carrier Gazzy should never pursue: cosmetology.

When he had finished, he looked like he had two black eyes and very, very rosy cheeks. He had on an estimated three pounds of red lipstick and frowned deeply when we all burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"Yeah, yeah, Gazzy the Circus Clown, ha, ha. Now how do I get it off?"

We decided to let the poor kid wash it off, and when he came in, it looked like he had come up with an excellent plan to get someone as bad as he had been gotten. Did that grammar even make sense? Ah, never mind.

So he took a seat back at his spot on the carpet, his less than stellar poker face practically screaming a warning.

"I choose Max," He said, his cruel excitement nearly bubbling over.

Max gulped.

"Dare, or Truth, Max?" Gazzy asked.

"Truth."

Gazzy's face fell, "What? Are… are you sure you don't want to pick dare?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Oh, hey, was that your question? Oh, well look at that, I guess it's my turn! Hey, Nudge, Dare or Truth?" Max rushed the words out, not letting Gazzy protest.

Nudge thought for a moment and then said, "Truth."

Max paused for a bit, then asked, "If you could have one day were everything would go exactly the way you wanted it, what would you have happen?"

Nudge's brown eyes sparkled as she ranted, "Oh, oh! I would go back in time and spend the day with Coco Channel and she would ask me to help her design a clothing line and I'd become super famous and I'd come back to the present and everyone would be wearing the clothes I designed and I'd still be super famous and then we'd all have a perfect house in Florida and we'd fly to New York City on the weekends and go to fashsion shows and then they'd ask me to be a model and I'd become even more famouser and—,"

Max held a hand up, "We get it, Nudge."

Nudge clamped her mouth shut.

Silence.

"Oh, wait, it's my turn!" Nudge exclaimed when she realized everyone was looking at her expectantly.

Max sighed, "Sometimes, Nudge, you can be blonder than Gazzy."

"I'm not blond!" Gazzy protested.

Max just raised an eyebrow at him and then he realized what she meant.

"Oh. Never mind."

"Right, okay, uhm… I pick…," Nudge said, her eyes scanning the room, "Ella!"

"Sounds fun," Ella said sarcastically.

"Dare or Truth?"

"Eh, why not, dare," Ella said with an indifferent shrug.

Nudges mouth curled into an evil grin that seemed to be very common in this game. Ella wasn't so indifferent, then.

"I dare you to… _kiss Iggy!_"

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**-_Collective gasp-_**

**How scadelous!**

**Anyway... I bet your _really_ tempted to press that lovely blue button...**

**I think you should...**

**...**

**Nike- Just Do It!**

**(Disclaim: I don't own that^^^)  
**


	5. Let's talk about our feelings

**Aren't I just the most dutiful uploader? Hahaha, I wish. This file has been sitting on my computer and I kinda ignored it cause I felt guilty... and lazy.**

**ANYWAY we're gonna kick in some mushy stuff in this chapter, so bare with me.**

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Max immediately protested, "I declare that dare invalid! Moving on, Ella, so, who do you pick?"

"Max, no fair!" Nudge exclaimed, "You gave you authority to, like, declare a dare invalid?"

"I'm in charge, cause I'm the oldest," Max said with finality that Nudge either didn't hear or ignored.

"Technically, Dr. M came home so you aren't in charge anymore…," Iggy reasoned.

Max shook her fist at him, "So you _want_ that kiss, do ya'? Ya' little pig!"

Iggy started to protest, "What? Max, now you're just –,"

"I don't wanna hear another word outa' you!" Max quickly cut him off.

Iggy started again, "But –,"

"Don't make me get the duct tape," Max warned.

"Max, this is ridiculous," Nudge cut in, "It's just one little kiss. It really isn't _that _big of a deal! And I'm sure Ella won't mind, right, Ella?"

We all looked toward Ella, awaiting a response but were met with… an empty spot on the carpet?

Iggy stuck his hand out in the empty space, "She's gone, isn't she?"

"Yeah," Angel told him quietly.

Gazzy sighed, "Is she disqualified or what?"

Ignoring Gazzy's question, Iggy angrily faced in Max's general direction, "Way to go, Max! If you hadn't made such a big deal out of this Ella would still be here!" He jumped up.

Glaring daggers at him, Max countered, "Whatever! And just where do you think you're going?"

"I'm going to find your sister," Iggy told her flatly, exiting dramatically down the hall.

Silence.

_Well, so much for a lighthearted game of Dare or Truth,_ I thought wryly, giving Max a disappointed look.

"What?" She asked me. I just shook my head.

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_Stupid_ Max and her _stupid_ opinions about _every_ little _stupid_ thing that goes on in this _stupid_ house, I silently ranted as I made my way up the stairs to Ella's room.

I slid my hand along the wall until I felt the third door that had Ella's name on it with multi-colored letters. I paused for a moment, listening.

One thing I didn't hear: sobs. That was already a plus. I tried to calm myself down a bit so I didn't startle her.

At the last minute I remembered my manners and knocked.

I heard the door open and Ella say, "Oh, hey, Iggy."

Her voice was so... uninspired. Nothing like the regular Ella. I had never heard her sound this dejected, and suddenly I became very worried.

"Hey, Ella," I said softly, "Can I come in?"

A moment of silence, I guess she nodded, but then remembering I was blind she said, "Yeah," in the same overly quiet voice.

This was my first time in Ella's room, and I didn't really know my way around. Luckily, Ella took my hand and led me over to her bed where we both sat. Ella did that a lot, I noticed – rescued people from embarrassment, I mean. I liked that about her.

"I'm sorry about that dare," I said after a rather awkward moment of silence.

The bed shifted a bit when she shrugged, "Iggy?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I tell you something?"

That definitely perked my interest. "Sure, Ella," I said, containing my anxiousness.

She took a deep breath and let it flow back out, "It's why I don't like the game truth or dare."

Dang it.

"It all happened back in sixth grade," She began, "when I was at a friend's house for her birthday. It was a co-ed party, so there were guys there, too. After we did cake and presents and her parents went upstairs to watch a movie, she announced it was time to play truth or dare.

"At the time, I really enjoyed the game so I was more than happy to participate. We all sat in our little circle, and the first few dares were harmless and silly. Like, 'I dare you to eat dog food' or something stupid like that. I kept choosing truth, ya' know, just to play it safe, but as you may have learned, just because you don't choose dare doesn't mean you can't be affected by one.

"So the birthday girl had just been dared to eat ten pixie stix, and you do _not_ wanna see this chick on sugar, so she dared my friend Nathan, who I was crushing on at the time, to –," She stopped her story so abruptly my head snapped up.

I mulled this over in my head for a bit, piecing together the events and soon enough my obtuse male brain came to the conclusion, "She dared him to kiss you, didn't she?"

All I got as a reply was a small sniffle. I didn't expect her to say anything, but she apparently wasn't as far gone as I thought.

"And you know what? He did! I _told_ them I didn't want to do it, and he was fine with that! It was _completely_ necessary to scar me for life. But _no_, it was her birthday so she just _had _to get her way…," Ella's words trailed off.

After a short lapse of time, I caught the small_ pit pat_ sound tears make when they fall on fabric, and in response, I moved over closer to Ella and put my arm around her, doing my best to think of a way to comfort her.

"Hey, it's okay, I mean… It's in the past now, right?" I tried, remembering that Disney movie with the baboon guy saying, "It doesn't matter, it' in the past now!"

She leaned her head on my chest, "In the past?"

"Uh, yeah. Like, there isn't anything we can do to change it, so why worry about it?" Hey, that actually sounded pretty good – maybe that can be my career path: Iggy, the therapist.

She sighed, "I guess you're right… the worst part is that I didn't even really like him all that much. I just said I did to get my friends off my case."

"Well," I replied, "That's his loss."

Suddenly, she shifted away so she was facing me, "Do you really mean that?"

I was taken aback, "Of course, Ella! You're one of the smartest, nicest, funniest people I know! That guy would be seriously bummed if he figured out you never really liked him.

Second surprise of the last ten minutes: Ella tackles me with a hug and is now gushing tears like she's trying to make a river to the thirsty people in Africa.

Question to anyone who cares: What the _hell_ do I do now!

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**Oh, Iggy... poor, clueless, Iggy...**

**Aren't they just made for each other? And the best part is, J.P. won't mess this couple up like Fax cause it's not the main couple! :D**

**I'd review... Iggy needs guidance!  
**


	6. Who needs door knobs?

**You reviewers make me feel all specail and happy! :D -gives reviewers assorted candy- I luvs you thiiiiiiiis much!**

**On a depressing note, Fanfiction seems to find it nessacary to delete the "?" if you have a "!" in front of it. Like, ! + ? when it's an emotional question. Now tell me, how is that improper grammer! (Just in case it was deleted, that was supposed to be a ! and a ?) Hmm? **

**On the bright side... this is the second to last chapter! Or is that a bad thing?**

**Oh, and Iggy would like to thank all the people who gave him advice.**

**Iggy: Thanks! -waves blindly(haha)-**

**Me: Get off my laptop! -slaps with glove-**

**Iggy: Ouch!**

**Me: Bet he didn't _see_ that one coming! Get it? Cause he's, like, blind! I kill me...**

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Okay, I'm not a narcissist or anything, but I'm pretty darn smart for a blind guy. I can figure out a solution to a heck of a lot of problems. Beat up a bad guy? No prob. Cook dinner? Don't make me laugh. Build a bomb? Seconds flat.

Comfort a crying girl? Uh… is there a crash course I can take for that?

Let's just say, I could use some work.

I figured that if I tried to say anything, I would sound like a total idiot, so I kept my mouth shut and hugged Ella back.

Poor kid. Her mom is always busy helping us, going off on crazy trips to help with environmental research, never having time to actually raise her daughter.

Knowing Ella, she shows no sign of this. I've never had much of a parental figure, except maybe Jeb, but I couldn't imagine having someone – knowing they're out there – but never being able to spend time with them.

Subconsciously, I held Ella tighter, feeling a new and really strange feeling: compassion. Trust me, I am by no means the sappy guy, but there was something a bit different now that it was happening to Ella… Of all people that could be hurt, why did it have to be Ella? She was one of the best people I knew, and did not deserve to cry.

To my relief, her sobs began to slow, and her breathing steadied, but she didn't pull away. Did I even want her to?

I had another one of those moments where I wished so hard that I could see. I'd heard Nudge and Angel fawning over how beautiful Ella was. I caught a few things from their conversations: Ella has brown eyes, dark hair, and clear tan, skin. From that, I got a pretty good mental picture of her, but I wanted so badly to be able to see her for myself.

The worst part was, I didn't even know why. It just didn't compute. Why did this matter so darn much? Ella would never be interested –

Suddenly, Ella moved away, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"I-I'm sorry, Iggy. I shouldn't have broken down like that," She apologized. Wait, she did something _wrong_? When did this happen?

"Ella, seriously, it's fine," I assured her, involuntarily moving a bit closer to her.

I felt the weight of the bed shift as she abruptly rose to her feet, "We should probably get back to the game."

I stood up, and a few quick strides brought me to the door before her. A stroke of blind luck (ha, ha) let my hand fall right on the door knob.

In one quick motion, I was in front of the door, my hands covering the door knob behind me.

"Iggy!" She said in surprise, "C'mon, they'll be worried."

I shrugged, turning the lock on the door knob.

"Iggy…," She warned.

"Ella…," I said in the same tone.

"I can just unlock the door, you know," She said impatiently, but I could still detect a hint of hidden pain in her voice. Yeah, I'm that good.

I yanked down hard on the door knob, hearing a satisfying crack as it broke, "Not anymore."

"Did you just – did you just _break_ my door knob?"

I moved out of the way, "I'm really not sure. Why don't you be the judge?"

I heard her frantically try to open the door, but the door knob wouldn't turn, and that meant we were trapped. Excellent.

"Great, Mr. Wise guy, now how do we get out?"

I shrugged again, "I can open it. But not until we talk."

"We _have_ been talking. Can't we just go and pretend this never happened?" She asked desperately. She was definitely hiding something.

"We're going to keep talking," I put my hands on her shoulders and sat her on her bed. I took a seat next to her, "Now what's bothering you?"

She sighed, "It's a bunch of little things… altogether they're just kind of overwhelming."

"Like what kind of little things?"

"I don't even know why you care so much! Half of the problem is your fault, anyway!" She cried in an unexpected outburst.

My eyebrows went up in shock, "My fault? What'd I do?"

"Nothing," she said, backpedaling like crazy, "I-it's nothing!"

I frowned, "Doesn't sound like nothing. I really am sorry for whatever I did."

She sighed, "It's nothing you could change… it's my fault, really."

Well that made just about as much sense as Nudge on a rant. "Could you specify?"

Ella paused, "I can't leave till I've explain this, can I?"

"Nope."

She sighed, "Great. Brace yourself, because I am about to look like the dumbest girl you've ever met."

I thought about all of the girls I've met and quickly compared them to Ella, "I doubt that."

"Iggy, I… I really…," She took a deep breath and then practically yelled, "I - really - really - like - you!" (_A/N: I hate to interupt the story, but I had to put spaces because Fanfcition doesn't like long words. Darn them._)

I blinked, slowly separating the words into recognizable blobs, "You… like me?

"Yes," She whispered timidly.

I shook my head. It all made sense now! Why hadn't I seen it before? Well, besides the obvious reason.

I laughed, "You, Ella Martinez, like me, the blind, mutant _freak_? You're kidding!"

"But I don't think you're a freak at all! And the way you deal with your blindness is just… amazing!"

I shook my head again, "Ella, you're a beautiful, intelligent, charismatic and _normal_ girl. Why would someone as close to perfect as you have any interest in a sexist pig like me?"

"Beautiful? Have you been listening to Angel and Nudge?" She questioned.

I nodded sheepishly.

"So… you think I'm smart?" Ella asked quietly.

"Yeah, and funny, too. The best part about coming here is hanging out with you."

The words just tumbled out. Thoughts that had been there all along but were never voiced seemed to force their way to freedom. I sounded like a lovesick moron, but hey, I might actually be one.

"So…," She started to say after a short silence, "Does that mean you like me back?"

I smiled mischievously and leaned toward her, "I guess so."

"U-uh, we should, um, go, now," She said nervously. She was probably two inches from me - maybe less.

I frowned, "Do we have to?"

"At some point, yes."

I didn't move, "What about the dare?"

"Dare?" She echoed anxiously, "What dare?"

"Nudge's dare."

I heard her swallow, and then she said quietly, "Oh. That dare."

Another one of my rascally grins made its way onto my face, "Yup."

There was a pause, and I was about to say something, when Ella suddenly threw her arms around my neck and kissed me, full on the lips.

I wrapped my arms around her waist, and kissed her back. I'd never kissed anyone before, and I don't think I want to, because kissing Ella was like having all of my senses on hyper-drive. I couldn't really think, but I could recognize that I was in absolute bliss.

Of course, breathing is kind of important if you want to, like, stay alive, so we broke apart, breathing hard.

And that's when the camera went off.

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**Me and my notorious cliff hangers... heh heh heh...**

**Sorry again about sticking that A/N in there... but the chapter was cute, right? It's almost a little too cute... hm.**

**I think you know what you must do now... If you don't do it for me, do it for the children! REVIEW! Por favor?  
**


	7. You Hoolagans

**Reviewers are beautiful people. You all deserve a virtual hug. -virtually hugs reviewers-**

**I know this will break all of your little hearts, but I'm ending the story here... It just feels finished, to me. I may pick it up again, someday. Or not.**

**Because I haven't done one of these in a while...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own these people. If I did, then the climax of FANG would have been Fang killing Dylan. Mwahaha.**

**On with the story!  
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I untangled myself from Iggy in order to brutally murder whoever took that photo.

Where the door knob used to be, there was now a small hole, and I saw half of the door knob lying on the ground, and heard giggles from outside.

I threw the door open to see Nudge and Angel sprawled on the hallway floor, laughing their butts off. Angel was clutching a digital camera.

At this point, I'm pretty sure my face was the color of a tomato, and I silently thanked God that Iggy couldn't see me like this.

"What are you two doing?" I accused them.

They stopped laughing, noticing me for the first time.

"Oh, hey, Ella! We were just coming to check on you guys, but since the door was broken –," Angel started.

"—I pulled it out and since you two were, ahem, _occupied_, we decided to document this beautiful moment for your children someday," Nudge finished with an impish grin.

I gave them my best Max-esque glare, and judging from they're expressions, I was improving.

Steps sounded from the stair case, and we looked up to see Max and Fang making their way into the hallway, "What's taking you so long!" Max questioned.

I pointed at Angel and Nudge, "These two… these two little – _hooligans!" _I finally shouted, sounding like my history teacher when we were bad little children, or, in her world, 'hooligans.'

That earned me a few looks. It was the best word I could think of for the two, well, hooligans.

Max turned to Angel and Nudge, "Well, hooligans, what mischief have you been stirring up today?"

Nudge giggled, "They went through with the dare!"

"And they _enjoyed_ it!" Angel added with unsurpressed glee, "Now you and Fang can go on a double date with Iggy and Ella! Hooray!"

Blushing, Max's eyes bored into Iggy and I.

"We're getting the Max-glare, aren't we?" Iggy muttered to me under his breath.

"Yeah. Like, her worst yet," I informed him.

Max covered her face with her hand, "Everyone back in the living room," she commanded tiredly.

Fang's POV

Watching the aftermath of Iggy and Ella's little scandal was almost too funny to bare.

It was like a soap opera. Max was the evil step mother, and Iggy and Ella were the forbidden love, and Gazzy was the one who broke into song every once and a while when it was just too perfect.

The best part was, I changed out of my redicuous costume before anyone could notice, and when I returned I could feel tension hanging in the room like a drunk hangs on the back of his couch.

Ella sat about an inch away from Iggy, defiantly returning Max's glare. I had to admit, the girl had guts. Iggy actually looked ever so slightly guilty.

The younger ones were quietly sitting out of the way, doing their best to go unnoticed as Max's fury reached its peak.

I sighed, deciding this had gone on long enough.

"Okay," I said, breaking the silence (there's a first for everything), "Enough is enough, you three need to make nice."

"Since when were you the peace-maker?" Max shot at me.

"Just stay out of this, Fang!" Ella warned me.

"No, _I'm_ not going to be the peace maker…," They gazed at me suspiciously.

I turned and called down the hallway, "Oh, Dr. Martinez! We need your help with something!"

Ella's eyes widened, "This is gonna be awkward," she muttered.

Dr. Martinez strolled in, "What's up, Fang?"

So I told her just exactly what was up. It involed many awkward glances, awkward explainations, and over all we can could say that it was simply an _awkward_ situation.

"… and because I value my life, I decided that I would let a responsible adult figure – such as yourself – handle this situatinon before it got out of hand. And now we're here. Comments?" I finished.

For a long while, she was silent, her gaze giving nothing away as it shifted from one kid to another.

Then, after what felt like a year her eyes rested on Ella and Iggy. Ella held her head up, trying to appear defiant, and took Iggy's hand. Poor kid.

Finally, Dr. M said, "I guess I approve. It's not like I could stop you, anyway. But, Iggy, just to let you know… if you think Max is bad…" She let the threat trail off.

Iggy nodded, trying to conceal how extatic he was to learn that today his death wasn't imminate, "I understand completely, Dr. M!"

Max was standing there, mouth agape, at her mothers judgement.

"And you, young lady," Dr. M switched to her motherly voice when she turned to Max, "Need to give these two a break. You don't see any of us giving you and Fang a hard time." She smiled slyly, causing both Max and I to blush.

She checked the clock, "It's starting to get late. You all need to get ready for bed! C'mon, show's over!" She rousted Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel and steered them off to bed, leaving me, Max, Iggy, and Ella to wallow in yet another awkward silence. There was no other word for it.

To everyone's surprise, Max let out a defeated sigh, "Okay, fine, I give you guys the stamp of approval or whatever."

"Really?" Ella gushed, hugging her sister, "Oh, thank you so much, Max!"

Max patted her head with a half-smile, "Yeah, well…," Then she caught my look.

_What?_ Her face seemed to ask.

I held my hands up, _Nothing._

She rolled her eyes and gave me her 'Yeah, right,' look.

I just smiled.

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**Everybody go _aaaaawww! 3_**

**So ends my only real story... But don't worry, I have a couple in the works. I'm thinking Eggy one-shot and a mystery... and Roxy's story, too.**

**I bet you wanna flame me for ending the story. By all means... one twitch of the mouse... one flick on the trackpad... that's the only thing between you and reviewing bliss.  
**


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